The 73.5kW/100hp Valtra-Valmet 6550 HiTech is a tractor with many strengths: Grunty engine, robust axles and running gear, easy-to-operate gearbox and a comfy cab. Out in the field it also performs well – although, like most machines, there is the odd downside, too. In this tractor test we examine the 6550’s pluses and minuses. Text by Manfred Neunaber with photos by Stefan Tovornik
Conceived by professionals, built by professionals – and to be driven by professionals. This was Valtra’s message when launching its HiTech tractor range, a line-up comprising four four-cyl models in the 66-88kW/90-120hp bracket and five six-cyl models in the 81-147kW/110-200hp sector. Features of note include the E-series diesel engine, air-suspended front axle (currently unavailable in four-cyl tractors, optional on the sixcylinder models) and a number of other refinements.
And then there’s ‘HiTech’, the intriguing label for Valmet’s ‘gearbox management system for the optimisation of tractor control’. Tractor makers are renowned for decorating their wares with such fanciful titles, so it was with some relief that we discovered Valtra had some justification for its turn of phrase. The control system is indeed high-tech and of genuine merit. But more of that later.
First, the engine. For our HiTech test we picked the 73.5 kW/100hp 6550, the second smallest tractor in the range. Its turbocharged fourcylinder 420 DWRE Sisu engine delivers its rated speed from 4.4-litre cylinders at 2,200rpm. To put beef on these statistical bones, we took the 6550 along to the OECD test station where the tractor’s performance characteristics were measured and scrutinised.
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